Graceland Cemetery: Stories of The Underground Railroad (In-person tour)

Schedule

Sat Jun 19 2021 at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Location

Graceland Cemetery & Arboretum | Chicago, IL

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Chicago was home to a tightly-knit group of abolitionists, Underground Railroad workers, and refugee enslaved people. Many are at Graceland!
Chicago's Graceland Cemetery was founded by a Thomas Bryan, who later purchased a handwritten draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. Perhaps this is why so many members of Chicago's tight-knit community of abolitionists and Underground Railroad "conductors" chose to be buried there!
This tour will cover everything from people who escaped slavery to help others do the same, lawyers who fought the Fugitive Slave law, Black Civil War veterans, a Galveston woman who likely found out that she was free on the famous "Juneteenth," and many more.
Tour guide Adam Selzer is the author of an upcoming book on Graceland Cemetery (due next year from University of Illinois Press), and is the author of such books as MYSTERIOUS CHICAGO, HH HOLMES: THE TRUE HISTORY, and FLICKERING EMPIRE: HOW CHICAGO INVENTED THE US FILM INDUSTRY. He appears frequently on the History, Travel and Smithsonian channels. See also the virtual Undergroudn Railroad tour we'll be livestreaming on June 17th!
WHAT TO KNOW:
- Meet just inside the Graceland gates (Clark and Irving Park) a bit before 10. You will only need your name, not a paper ticket.
- This is a walking tour, and includes more walking (on the paved paths and off) than most of our Graceland tours , as the graves cover a broad amount of land in the cemetery.
- The tour runs rain or shine, and lasts 1.5 to 2 hours (a bit longer than most of our Graceland tours).
- Bathrooms are usually available before the tour, but this is a cemetery - we won't be near any bathrooms during the walk.
- Limited parking is available in the cemetery; street parking may be complicated somewhat by the 1:20 Cubs game. The cemetery is near the red line, the 22 Clark bus, and the Irving Park bus.
- No refunds.
- The tour is in the safe outdoors, but we strongly recommend being fully vaxxed.
- Beware of scammers! Often the facebook group will have LOTS of people saying "I have 4 tickets I can't use; dm me to buy them cheap." Once we counted about 125 "extra" tickets available. That's WAY, WAY, WAY more than were ever available. Don't be fooled.
- IF you don't get a ticket in time this week, don't worry - there are lots more opportunities coming! We're just dipping our toes back into in-person tours.
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Where is it happening?

Graceland Cemetery & Arboretum, 4001 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60613, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

USD 20

Mysterious Chicago

Host or Publisher Mysterious Chicago

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